September 12: Hurricane Irma (Football) Bulletin

Posted September 12th, 2017

Member Schools & Administration:

The FHSAA Staff is sending positive thoughts your way as you all begin to pick up the pieces and rebuild your schools and your communities following Hurricane Irma. Please be advised that our staff is here to assist, should there be anything we can do to provide you help and/or support in this time of need.

Although the FHSAA understands that in most areas of our state, high school athletics is certainly not a priority at this time, we have been inundated with questions and concerns regarding FHSAA Football specifically. Therefore, we’ve put together the following bulletin and FAQ’s to address all your questions and concerns.

September 12: Hurricane Irma (Football) Bulletin

The safety of the student-athletes, parents, coaches and school administrators impacted by Hurricane Irma remains our top concern. Due to the widespread and varying levels of impact from Hurricane Irma, the FHSAA has chosen not to uniformly cancel, postpone and/or prohibit play. The FHSAA plans to maintain the originally scheduled season dates in an effort to cause the least amount of impact on all other non-athletic activities. The decision to practice and/or play remains up to each individual school and/or school district. Provided facilities, roadways and conditions permit, each school is encouraged to resume play as soon as possible. In an effort to get teams conditioned appropriately and back on track with regularly scheduled games, practice will be permitted this Sunday (September 17th) only, with your school and/or school districts approval.

In the event games need to be rescheduled or postponed, schools are encouraged to work together to come up with a date that best suits all parties involved. If a game is rescheduled, please email all specific details to football [at] fhsaa [dot] org as soon as a decision has been made.

With regard to the FHSAA’s points system for Football, as originally planned, total points will be determined by dividing points earned by games played. If a school falls below the eight (8) game (minimum) requirement, the Executive Director may waive the minimum game requirement on a case-by-case basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can we practice?

a. Practice is a school and/or school district based decision. Provided your school and/or school district permits you to do so, practices are permitted.

2. Can we play this week?

a. This is a school and/or school district based decision. Provided your school and/or school district permits you to do so, and conditions are appropriate, returning to your regular schedule of games is permitted and encouraged.

3. Can we play this week’s game on Monday of next week?

a. This is a school and/or school district based decision. Provided your school and/or school district permits you to do so, and conditions are appropriate, you may play your game any day (except Sunday), that is suitable for all parties involved. However, you are encouraged to play as soon as possible, provided facilities, roadways and conditions are appropriate.

4. Can we practice on Sunday?

a. Yes, provided your school and/or school district permits, practice will be permitted this Sunday (Sunday, September 17th) only.

5. What happens if I don’t play a minimum eight (8) games?

a. The Executive Director may waive the minimum game requirement on a case-by-case basis. This was part of the original policy for these specific types of situations.

6. Will playing fewer games than regularly scheduled hurt our playoff chances?

a. No. This is why there is a divisor. Total points will be determined by dividing points earned by games played. This was part of the original policy for these specific types of situations.

7. We have a district game this week, when should we make it up?

a. Games are encouraged to be made up as quickly as possible, provided facilities, roadways and conditions are appropriate. Below are a few options on when you could possibly make these games up:

1. Play Monday (9/18) or Tuesday (9/19) of Week 5;

2. Make the game up in the coming weeks, preferably on a Monday;

3. If options 1 and 2 are not feasible, please contact the FHSAA office for further assistance.

8. If we are playing a non-district game and the other team doesn’t agree to play or make it up, is it counted as a forfeit?

a. No. If a makeup date was agreed to in your game contract, both schools will be required to uphold the contract. However, if there is no contracted makeup date and no agreement on a necessary makeup date, the game will be stricken from the schedule and neither school will be awarded a win or a loss.

9. Can we add a game now and will it count for playoff points?

a. You may add a game, but it will not count towards playoff points. Only games on your original schedule will be used for playoff qualification purposes.